


Illegal Magic Pt 4

by QueenCoeurl



Series: Illegal Magic AU [4]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Ableist Language, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, Blood and Gore, Explicit Language, Gen, Graphic Description, Magic, Monsters, Needles, Nightmares, Ryan eats some raw chicken at some point, Self-Discovery, SmilingStranger!Ryan, Summoner!Jack, Talk of eating human meat but it's not cannibalism, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Violence, Warlock!Geoff - Freeform, Witch!Meg, illegal magic au, please don't ever do that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-01
Updated: 2016-11-01
Packaged: 2018-08-28 10:39:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 20,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8442652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenCoeurl/pseuds/QueenCoeurl
Summary: It's been almost three weeks since Ryan killed and tried to eat a man while his friends did all in their power to stop him. Now that Demon and Rye are gone it's only Ryan and yet he still has all of Demon's powers. Is he human? Or is he something else? Maybe it's time to force Geoff and Jack to spill whatever secret they've been keeping from him.





	

  Reaching his building, Ryan slowed his run into a walk. He tugged the buds from his ears and hung them across his neck before pulling up his shirt to rub some sweat from his face. His muscles ached, and he was breathless. Upon checking his phone, he was pleased to find that today looked like it was going to remain pleasant well into the evening.

  It had been just under three weeks since they’d been lost in those woods, and Ryan felt no less guilty. Nor was he any less scared of it happening again.

  He’d found himself a therapist who specialised in violence and aggression, but wouldn’t be able to meet with them for another two weeks. In the meantime, he figured his best course of action was to remain busy.

  So he took up running.

  With music playing and his body moving, his thoughts remained in the present. Well away from the events of that night and even further away from the questions it brought.

  Most days he’d run twice: once in the morning to clear his head of any residual nightmares; then again at night, in an effort to exhaust himself beyond the ability to dwell on his thoughts before sleep.

 

  He hated every second of it.

  He had never been one to exercise. It sucked. Physical exertion just sucked in general, and now here he was forcing himself to move in an effort to cope.

 

  The main entrance to the old radio factory didn’t face the street. Instead it faced the large L-shaped parking lot beside it. The parking lot then hooked around behind the factory where some old loading docks remained. The entrance was two large wooden doors with a picture window in the top half of each. Large brass knobs remained unlocked to allow access to the lobby and the building’s buzzer system.

  Currently both front doors were propped open with wooden wedges. A box truck was backed up close to the entrance and men were carrying heavy boxes into the building.

 Ryan raised a brow. It was unusual to see any activity in his building. He was confident he was the only tenant. Was someone new moving in?

  He pulled out his keys and approached the doors with curiosity. If he was getting a new tenant, he would have preferred to meet them while he wasn’t covered in sweat with his face undoubtedly still red.

  Ensuring that no movers were making their way through, Ryan slipped into the small lobby.

  The lobby wasn’t much to look at. Unadorned, undecorated, concrete floor, white painted walls. Two doors were on the left wall. The one closest to the entrance lead to the mail room, and the one a little way down lead to the staircase up. The stair door was always locked to prevent random people from accessing the second floor where the apartments were.

  Directly across from the entrance doors was the large old industrial elevator that had been with the factory since the beginning. It was frightening to ride; cavernous, rattling, and dark. Ryan was convinced that one day it would abruptly die, and he hoped he wasn’t in it when it did.

  On the right wall was another set of double doors, but these were more modern and made of metal. They had no windows, and Ryan assumed that they led to a storage area or the elevator’s machinery. Closer to the entrance, the right wall also held a metal panel. Apartment numbers were listed on it, with a large silver button next to each.

  Only one apartment number had a name written next to it.

  _201 J. Haywood_

  Ryan wondered what name would be added to the list.

 

  With a reverberating clang the elevator doors creaked open and two of the movers emerged. They gave Ryan acknowledging nods, and returned to their truck to grab the next box.

  Ryan decided to take the stairs up. His muscles complained, but he wasn’t going to risk that death trap Geoff had somehow managed to get an operating license for.

  Stepping onto his floor and into the hallway, he immediately noticed that it was _his_ apartment door that was open. He could hear the sounds of powered screwdrivers and a hammer echoing out from inside.

  He froze in place with a throaty utterance of, “Uhhh…”

  The elevator doors nosily opened, and the movers walked past him with a long and flat rectangular box directly into his apartment.

  Ryan had to find out what was going on. He followed them into his apartment, and walked in on a scene of absolute disarray.

  His only piece of furniture (the couch) was gone. Instead, there were boxes and packing materials everywhere, with several people assembling the items that had come from within. There were several large items wrapped in thin protective foam and sat on dollies. By his window was a woman on a step ladder, drilling into the concrete several inches above the glass.

 

  “Rye!”

  Ryan jumped at being called, and turned towards the voice.

  Meg was seated on the edge of the island in his kitchen. She waved at him, “You weren’t home when they arrived, so I let them in.”

  Ryan went to the kitchen and neared her so that they could speak without shouting over the noise of assembly, “What’s going on?”

  “It’s delivery day!” Meg replied, “For most of your new stuff – some won’t come until Monday, and I’m still not sure about the lighting fixtures.” She gave Ryan a proper look over, “You went for a run? I didn’t know you ran!” she beamed.

  “I started just recently – how did you get into my apartment? You could have given me a heads up.” Ryan complained.

  Meg gave him a look, “I did, you dummy. Maybe if you actually checked your phone once every three years, you’d know that.”

  Ryan poured himself a large glass of water. He wouldn’t be surprised if she had actually messaged him. He’d been avoiding communication with the guys, and would have easily ignored her without noticing. He took the time to finish his glass before answering, “Sorry.”

  Meg shook her head and sighed, “Whatever.” She decided to change topic, “So you run now? How do you like it?”

  “I hate it.” Ryan stated.

  Meg frowned, “I love running… If you hate it, why are you sticking with it? There are other ways to workout, other ways to do cardio.”

  Ryan shrugged, “Honestly is seemed like the easiest thing to do. I didn’t want to mess around with finding a gym or buying equipment. I literally know nothing about working out.”

  “I find the best way to choose your workout is to first decide what your goal is.” Meg offered advice she herself had followed.

  “Just as an outlet – something to keep me busy.” Ryan explained, “I’m also looking at maybe taking classes of some sort to keep me committed.”

  “Kickboxing is excellent.” Meg nodded.

  Ryan gave a weak smile, “I was thinking more like self defense classes – something that might be harder to use offensively.”

  Meg realised exactly why that was. Demon didn’t need to learn how to inflict more damage, “Well if you ever want a running buddy, just hit me up. I’d love to help you out.”

  “Thanks.” Ryan looked out at his apartment, “So did you toss my couch?”

  “Oh my god, I took that thing out back and put it out if its misery. I don’t know how it didn’t have things living in it, I swear, I can’t believe you slept on that for like a month. It was gross. You’re going to have an actual bed now. You’re welcome.”

  “Will I have a place to sleep tonight?” Ryan would rather a musty couch than the concrete floor.

  Meg nodded and pointed to some plastic bags in the corner of the kitchen that Ryan hadn’t noticed, “Yes, and you’ll have brand new sheets too.”

  Ryan wanted to take a shower, but there were far too many people milling about his apartment. Also, he had no idea where Meg had put his clothes, and was afraid to ask. So instead he went over to the shopping bags to see what she had gotten him.

  He began to pick through, “King size?”

  Meg laughed, “What, did you expect smaller? Have you seen this place? You have so much space!” She wasn’t wrong, and the open concept layout only exaggerated it, “What do you have here, like twenty-five hundred square feet?”

  “I think Geoff said it was twenty-eight.” Ryan continued to look through the bags and saw sets of matching towels, shower curtains, bathroom rugs, and some throw blankets.

  “Christ, what the hell are you going to do with it? You better hold parties or something, because this is way too much room for one person.” Meg crossed her arms and watched Ryan finish looking through her purchases.

  “Well, I’m going to make one bedroom a computer room or office of sorts, and of course I’ll use the master bedroom as mine… Don’t know about the remaining one, but it could be made into a guest room.” Ryan leaned up against the kitchen counter as he thought about it, “The rest of this place is basically just one open room, so it will be nice if it’s less empty. I’ll get less of an echo.” He joked.

  “I only ordered one bedroom set and mattress, so if you want to set up the guest room, it’s going to be all you.” Meg informed him, “Also whatever office you might be planning on is going to be your responsibility too. I didn’t plan an office; I assumed you wouldn’t need one.”

  Ryan shrugged, “I don’t need a king sized bed either.” He went over to the fridge and pulled out a can of Diet Coke. He offered it to Meg.

  Meg accepted the Coke, so Ryan pulled another out for himself.

  Ryan cracked open the can and took a sip before nodding over at the woman drilling holes above his windows, “You’re installing curtains for me too?”

  Meg laughed lightly, “Oh yeah. You need some, but as a special gift from me to you, I’m getting you nice automatic sun shades. You can use a remote or an app to control them and how much light you want.”

  Ryan raised his eyebrows, “Oh wow, thanks.”

  “You can have them on timers too – open in the morning, close at night, whatever.” Meg added, “Saw them and thought they would be perfect, because otherwise you’d have a whole wall of curtains or blinds to fight with.”

  Ryan had to agree it would have been a nuisance and thanked her again.

  “But just so we’re still clear, everything else is being paid for by you.” Meg told him.

  Ryan chuckled, “Only if you listened to me and didn’t go overboard. Which, honestly, I’m starting to question…”

  Meg gave him a playful slap on the shoulder with her free hand, “I stayed reasonable!”

  “You got me a king sized bed…” Ryan pointed out.

  “OH MY GOD!” Meg complained loudly, “Have you ever heard of treating yourself? It’s really not that big a deal!”

  “Alright, alright.” Ryan conceded. He finished up his coke, “So how long are all these people gonna be here? I’d like to shower after my run.”

  “Yeah, you need it.” Meg took another drink of her coke, “I think all the furniture for your master bedroom has already been assembled and placed, so if you use that bathroom, you should be fine.”

  “Are my clothes in there?” Ryan asked.

  Meg sighed, “Yes, your clothes are piled up on the floor.”

  Ryan tossed his can into the recycling, and made his way towards his bedroom. He pushed open the door to his room and stopped in the doorway to admire what Meg had accomplished.

  “Holy shit.” He breathed the words out.

  Black and dark grey was the theme, and it made the furniture stand in stark contrast to the light grey concrete floor, and three white walls. The fourth wall held a large picture window and was made of red brick. This was now an accent wall, adding a striking splash of colour to the otherwise monochrome room. Meg had thrown a few decorative items onto shelves and table tops that mirrored the ruddy red colour of the brick to better bring it together.

  Heavy black light blocking curtains framed the window. Polished black shelving and drawers sat on either side of a low to the ground bedframe made of black steel and dark wood. The bare mattress was painfully out of place, but he had seen the dark sheets Meg had bought for it.

  On the wall across from the bed was attached a wall mount for a TV, but with no TV on it. Ryan smirked; so, Meg had actually listened to him when he said not to buy any electronics. Those were something he wanted to buy on his own.

  He looked towards the door to the en-suite bathroom and his eyes widened. Against the whole wall was a massive glass and black steel closet. It came forward a good eight feet, and was basically a walk-in. Ryan wasn’t sure if he liked the idea of the main doors of his closet being glass as he tended not to be the neatest person, but had to admit it did look cool.

  A thought then struck him. His run hadn’t been THAT long; _how the hell had they assembled that thing so quick?!_ It couldn’t have come in whole… Unless…

  Had it been _warped_ in? Did Meg know delivery people willing to use magic? That seemed like a risky business strategy on their part. Sure, it was convenient, but most people still treated magic like a disease – danger this, danger that – _oh won’t you think of the children!_ It was stupid, but not entirely unfounded.

  He wondered if a business needed a permit to do that, or if they just hoped no one would report them. He’d have to look into it. Do a quick search online some time.

  But that would have to wait until later. For now, it was time to finally wash off.

 

  Fully washed and dressed in fresh clothes, Ryan left his room and saw Meg dictating the placement of a large half circle sectional couch. It would take up most of his living room area, but also act as a visual divide between the living and dining areas. It was a dark charcoal colour and seeing some of the other already constructed furniture, Ryan realised that the colour scheme from his bedroom was going to continue throughout the house.

  He approached Meg and leaned up on an already placed piece of the sectional. His fingers felt the soft material, “Is this real suede?” He leaned to better inspect the couch.

  “Yep.” Meg smiled.

  “Shit.” Ryan straightened and looked to her, “How much did this cost?!”

  Meg smiled and looked at him condescendingly, “You gave me a budget, and I stayed within it. That’s all you need to know.”

  “Yeah, but that budget was kinda ridiculous and I was hoping you wouldn’t–” Ryan was cut off by a wave of her hand.

  “It’s fine Rye. You can afford it.” She clapped him on the shoulder.

  Ryan was less sure of that. He honestly didn’t think Geoff was the type to take kindly to being ignored, and Ryan had been doing just that.

  Maybe it was time to read his messages and see if he still had a job.

  He absently watched some movers carry over a large low round table and place it within the curve of the couch. It was going to be quite the coffee table.

  Meg interrupted his thoughts, “When you mentioned not wanting to try and find a gym earlier, it got me thinking. I really like my gym, and it might be a bit out of your way, but if I refer you, you can get a month free to try it out and stuff.”

  Ryan looked to her, “Oh?”

  Meg shrugged, “Yeah. Maybe you’ll find something you actually like doing?” she pulled out her phone and began to tap away, “Here: that’s the address and the invite for the free month.”

  Ryan felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, “Thanks. I’ll have to check it out.” He scanned his apartment which was still mostly a mess, “Maybe I could even just go now while my place is like this.”

  Meg chuckled, “You won’t learn much just by looking without actually trying the place.”

  “I’d try it.” Ryan protested.

  “You just came back from a run and have already showered and changed. Don’t assume I’m stupid.” Meg crossed her arms, “I live with Gavin, remember? He’s the master of getting out of things he doesn’t want to do.”

  Ryan was surprised by that; he actually hadn’t been planning on skipping out on trying the place. He just didn’t want to be standing around here doing nothing.

  The inaction was forcing him to be introspective.

  “I don’t think you’re stupid.” Ryan replied kindly, “I can always take another shower. Lately, I just haven’t liked not being busy, so I figured I should take the opportunity and go, instead of just watching you arrange my place.”

  Meg didn’t look convinced, “You’ve always told me how inactive you are, and now, not only are you running, but you’re also willing to immediately go off to the gym?”

  Ryan exhaled a long deep sigh, and decided to come at least partially clean, “I don’t know how much Gavin has told you about what happened when we were all lost, but it’s something I’ve been avoiding letting myself brood about for the past few weeks. Keeping physically busy helps me wallow less.”

  Meg appeared greatly concerned, and put up a hand, “Rye, you know that there’s such a thing as too much exercise, right? How often have you been running?”

  “Twice a day.” Ryan admitted, “But I feel fine.”

  “Twice a day, every day? How far are you running and how fast?” Meg continued her concern.

  “It’s every day, but I dunno how far or fast. I just kinda go until I figure I should probably head back…” he gave a small quick shrug.

  Meg stared at him as if he had suddenly grown a second set of ears, “What?! How can you not know?”

  “I just pick a direction and run.” Ryan told her, “Even misjudged it a few times and had to call a cab back.” He chuckled.

  “That’s – That’s not how you run, Ryan.” Meg shook her head, “You plan a route based on distance, and then follow it.”

  “But then how are you supposed to know how far you can go? I just go until I can’t.” Ryan argued, “I also rather not have a number that others could compare themselves to, I am not a fit man, I don’t need that embarrassment.”

  “But then how can you know if you improve or not?!” Meg asked him.

  “I honestly don’t care about that. I told you already; this is just about keeping busy.”

  “Fuck.” Meg dropped her arms and they slapped her thighs, “I’m buying you an Xbox so you can waste your time like a normal person, before you kill yourself.”

  Ryan was regretting his honesty. He rolled his eyes, “Meg,”

  “Don’t ‘Meg’ me!” She snapped. She brought up her phone again.

  “What are you doing now?” Ryan prayed she wasn’t contacting Geoff. He looked over her shoulder apprehensively, and saw her open Google Maps.

  “Seeing what's around here and then we’re gonna go get a coffee and talk. Consider it an intervention.” Meg said.

  Ryan frowned and crossed his arms, “I don’t need any kind of ‘intervention’.”

  “Well at the very least you need to talk. Gav told me what happened in those woods, and clearly it’s hitting you just as hard.”

  His frown deepened with irritation, “If you want to talk in a public place, then you clearly have no idea what happened.” His voice was low, almost swallowed by the sounds of tools.

  Meg faltered, “Excuse me?” her tone was angry, “First of all, the busier the place the _less_ likely people are to overhear you, and secondly; don’t be rude – Gavin told me _exactly_ what happened. I want your side of the story, and I want you to know that this isn’t something I’m going to let ruin your life. Fuck, man, Demon has done so much worse – why is _this_ the thing making you sulk?” She was careful not to speak too loudly. 

  Ryan didn’t appreciate having this conversation. “Meg, I’m _fine._ And I’m not _sulking_. I’m an adult and I can take care of myself. I value your concern, but this is not your problem.”

  That was very much the wrong thing to say. Meg glowered and her hand lashed out to grab Ryan’s. His world spun with vertigo, and the instant he found himself capable of gathering his bearings, he was pushed down onto a couch.

  Ryan looked around with some remaining dizziness from the sudden warp. He was back in Meg’s living room and sprawled across a portion of her large sectional. Meg sat across from him with her arms and legs crossed, a frustrated glare on her face.

  “Ok. Spill it.” Meg ordered.

  Ryan took a moment to straighten his position on the couch, and scowled, “We can’t just leave a bunch of strangers alone in my apartment! What if they–”

  “What?” Meg interrupted, “Steal your furniture? The same furniture they just delivered and spent time assembling?”  She made a good point. There really wasn’t much of value in his place yet, “I’m not letting you go anywhere until you get whatever’s bothering you off your chest.”

  Ryan’s scowl intensified, “It’s none of your business, alright? I know how to handle myself.”

  “Oh sure, because you’re doing such a great job of it. I know that I’m not the only one you’ve been ignoring. Why are you fighting me on this? Is it Demon’s doing? You need to talk to someone, and not just anyone, someone who knows what’s going on with you. If you don’t want to talk to me, that’s fine, but you _are_ going to talk to someone.” Meg’s voice was loud and stern.

  “No one knows what’s going on with me!” Ryan burst out and then crossed his arms, “That’s the fucking problem. All I have is questions, and no one has the answers.” He looked away.

  Meg’s tone became gentler, “What did Demon tell you in those woods? Gav told me how Demon burned a man alive and tried to eat him. I can’t imagine what it was like to be in the passenger seat for that, but I’m here to listen.”

  Ryan shifted uncomfortably. Finally, he sighed and rubbed his face, “You want me to talk? To tell you my side of things?”

  Meg nodded and leaned forward.

  “I was trapped and attacked by nymphs. Then, when I finally found my friends, I killed and tried to eat the stranger in the group.” Ryan said.

  Meg watched him, waiting to hear more.

  “ _I_ did.” Ryan stressed.

  “It was Demon, not you.” Meg told him comfortingly.

  Ryan growled, deep and low, but it wasn’t directed at Meg.

  Meg blinked at the inhuman sound, almost flinching back in surprise.

  “Demon’s gone, and so is Rye. I lost them in those woods.” Ryan roughly rubbed his face, distorting his next words, “I don’t know who I am anymore.”

  “What…? How is that possible? Who attacked that man then?”

  “I DID!” Ryan leaned forward and shouted at her in a tone that said she just wasn’t ‘getting’ it, “I killed him!”

  “But then who are you?” Meg asked.

  “I told you I DON’T KNOW!” Ryan threw up his arms before flopping face first into a pile of throw pillows arranged on the couch next to him. He pulled them tight around his head and moaned.

  Meg didn’t know what to say or do. She hadn’t expected such a reaction. Hesitantly, she moved closer to him and gently rubbed his shoulder, “We’ll figure this out.”

  Ryan mumbled into the pillows, and to Meg is sounded like he said, “So many years of therapy gone.”

  “Therapy?” She picked up on the word. She knew very little about his past, and if he had been in therapy, maybe it was something he could look into again.

  Ryan let out a long groan before turning his head to speak to Meg more clearly, “I’m waiting on a new therapist… I made an appointment, but I’m worried. I don’t want them to think I’m a threat to anyone’s safety, not again. But I can’t just remain like this.”

  That reply filled Meg’s head with questions. So, Ryan had been in therapy before? And they saw him as a threat to someone’s safety? Did that mean he’d been arrested? Had he been institutionalised?

  Ryan pushed himself back into a proper sitting position, “You happy now?” he was accusatory.

  Meg appeared sad and offended “Ryan, I just want to help. Please.”

  He leaned back and put his arm on his face with a long exhale, “I wish you could.”

  Meg’s thoughts were a flurry in the silence that passed between them. She then spoke again, “Do Jack and Geoff know?”

  Ryan shook his head, “No.”

  She looked him over and saw how tired and defeated he looked. His shoulders hung low and his eyes drooped, with dark almost bruise like bags beneath them. Meg had noticed earlier, and scolded herself for assuming it had been due to his run. This was a deep exhaustion, the kind a simple run would not cause.

  “Have you been sleeping?” Meg inquired.

  A sad laugh, “No.”

  “Nightmares?” She prodded.

  “Mostly.” Ryan confirmed.

  “And all your running?”

  “It helps, but not enough.” Ryan admitted, “Better than nothing, though.”

  Meg did her best to think of a way to help. She tapped her hands on her thighs as she thought, “Ok. I think you should let at least Jack know about this. I won’t tell a soul, but he would have the knowledge to at least start helping you. As for sleep, I think a new bed should help you a lot, but I can also make you a dreamless draught. It will have you feeling drowsy for a bit once you wake up, but it will mute any dreams. Issue is, it takes a while to make, so the earliest I could give it to you is for tomorrow night.”

  “I would really appreciate it.” Ryan avoided acknowledging the advice to tell Jack.

  “In the meantime,” Meg put a quick schedule together in her head, “Let’s go back to your place, grab your shoes, and then head shopping. I know you want to buy your own TV, so we can get started on that. Then tomorrow morning, we’ll go and check out the gym. Sound like a plan?”

  Ryan nodded. He was reluctant to go out, but knew it would be for the best. Besides, if he finally got a TV he would have yet another means of distraction. Maybe he could get himself some pieces for a nice computer too? His laptop was showing its age, and he would hate to be left without a computer. Most of his life revolved around it.

  Up until recently, of course. Geoff had really complicated his life.

  Thinking of Geoff once again, he decided to check his messages.

  Meg perked up when she saw him pull out his phone, “Going to message Jack?”

  Ryan shrugged, “Maybe. But first I want to check all the messages I’ve been ignoring. I might be fired for all I know.”

  She shook her head, “Geoff won’t mean it. He’s fired Gavin countless times. He’ll be pissed though, especially if you don’t tell him why you’ve been such a shut-in lately.”

  Ryan didn’t want to share with Geoff and Jack quite yet, especially since Geoff was still keeping secrets from him, “I hope you’re right.” He opened up his messages.

  He had received texts and emails from both Geoff and Jack, as well as a text from Jeremy. Meg’s texts were in the mix as well, but they were lowest priority as she sat right in front of him. He sighed as he scrolled through Geoff’s messages.

  “That bad?” Meg heard the sigh.

  Ryan scrolled back up to a particularly colourful example and read it out, “Hey fuck face if you’ve killed a motherfucker I’m going to fucking tear your tic-tac dick off and use it to beat you within a cunt hair of your life.” Ryan shook his head, “There’s like five exclamation points.”

  Meg snorted trying to hold back a laugh, “Aww, how cute. He really does care about you!”

  “Yeah, sure.” Ryan wasn’t convinced. He made his way down to the most recent message.

  “The more shit he gives you, the more he likes you. It’s how he is.” Meg explained.

  Ryan read through the message.

  _Get your ass to the following address on Friday, before 8PM or I’m firing you. We’re gonna need Demon, so be prepared for that._

A link to google maps followed the message.

  Friday was tomorrow, and Ryan was grateful he’d taken a look at his phone to see it. The way Meg had spent his money, he could use another paycheck.

  Jack’s messages were more gentle and filled with concern about his well-being, but his last message was similar to Geoff’s. It was clear they really wanted him present. Jeremy had texted him an article about Diet Coke and nothing else.

  Ryan finally put his phone away.

  “And?” Meg was curious.

  “I have to work tomorrow night. They want Demon present.”

  “Oh…” Meg thought it over, “Are you going to tell them, or are you going to pretend?”

  Ryan slowly shrugged, “They hired me for Demon. I don’t think telling them he’s gone is going to go over well. And my other option… I don’t know. It depends on what exactly they need me to do.”

  “You said it was you who killed that man in the woods – and I know it bothers you but – doesn’t that mean you at least have the potential to do what they need of you?”

  “I was starving Meg. I wanted to eat him. It wasn’t like Demon who just enjoys pain. It was survival. Fucked up, feral survival, but survival nonetheless.” Ryan tried to explain.

  “But you still had Demon’s strength and speed?” Meg had decided to conduct her own investigation here and now.

  “I must have. I don’t think kicking Michael off of me would have been possible otherwise.” Ryan thought back to that night.

  “And you’ve never wanted to eat a person before?”

  Ryan shook his head, “God no. Which is mostly why it’s freaking me out so bad. Even Demon never thought of eating anyone. Biting, sure, but not eating.”

  “Biting, huh?” Meg tilted her head in interest.

  “Yeah well, not like anything weird.” Ryan tried to defend it, “Just like if he ever got angry enough he’d snap at whatever he could.” He remembered how he himself had snapped at Gavin trying to hold him back. Was that the same? If so, was he Demon? He didn’t feel like he was, so maybe it had just been hunger?

  Meg seemed to mull over Ryan’s answer before speaking, “Have you ever considered that maybe you aren’t human? Like, just as an option?”

  Ryan shifted his weight, “Not until that night… But I’ve been questioning everything since then.” He scratched his jaw, his nails rasping across the hair of his short beard.

  “I think we should consider it. And I mean, if you aren’t human, then hey – it wouldn’t have been cannibalism if you did manage to eat the guy.” Meg tried to comfort him.

  “That’s not exactly comforting.” Ryan told her, “I still tried to eat him, etymology be damned.” He shook his head, “And that wouldn’t explain Demon or Rye and why now it’s just me.”

  “It might.” Meg offered, “There’s a lot of things out there.”

  “Any idea what I could be?” Ryan wondered if she had any theories.

  Meg gave a large shrug, “I’m far from an expert, but Jack is. You really should tell him.”

  Ryan didn’t like how she kept pushing that he tell Jack, “I’ll consider it. In the meantime, how about we go shopping?” Ryan wanted to end the discussion.

  Meg saw exactly what Ryan was doing and laughed, “Ok fine, I’ll stop bugging you. Let’s go get you a TV.”

 

~*~

 

  The 52” TV was laying across the back seat of Ryan’s sedan as they pulled into another parking lot at Meg’s urging. She had encouraged him to splurge, but Ryan managed to hold himself back from buying a second TV and a sound system for the living room. He could live with one for now, and maybe once he was sure he wasn’t going to be fired, he could look into a full entertainment set up.

  Meg had directed him to stop at a small strip mall and park in front of a Game Stop. They exited the car and Ryan had to chuckle. She really was going to carry through on her promise of an Xbox, wasn’t she?

  Ryan felt slightly worried about leaving the car behind with his brand new TV visible in the back seat, but he had parked close enough that he would be able to see anyone by his car while inside the store.

  Meg led him in, holding the door for him. She had questioned him about the types of games he enjoyed, and had learned he was almost exclusively a PC gamer. Excited that he did in fact play videogames, Meg had already started making a mental list of games she thought he would enjoy.

  The male clerk behind the counter was darker skinned with black rimmed glasses, and was currently finishing up with checking out a customer. Hearing the store door open he passively looked up to see who had entered. He did a double take and froze in place with his mouth partially open.

  The customer didn’t seem to notice and walked out.

  Meg did notice, and saw that the clerk was staring at Ryan. She looked to Ryan and saw that Ryan was also stopped in place and staring at the clerk in surprise.

  Looking between the two of them, she had to ask, “Do you know each other?”

  “You’re that kid.” Ryan pointed to the clerk.

  “Ray.” The clerk answered and his cheeks flushed, “How the hell did you track me down? I swear I didn’t tell anyone anything!” He backed away from the counter and held up his hands in front of him.

  “I didn’t–” Ryan started.

  “What’s going on?” Meg asked.

  “Dude, please don’t hurt me. I’m just working minimum wage trying to make ends meet here. I haven’t gone near that place since. I promise.” Ray pleaded.

  “This kid’s some sort of psychic. He broke into Geoff’s place when they were trying to exorcise me. He astral projects or something like it.” Ryan explained to Meg.

  “Hey, ya mind not talking about that at work? It’s not something people know about!” He lifted a hand in front of his mouth and spoke quietly, “I’m not registered.”

  Meg mouthed “Oh.” It made sense. He could be fired if it were found out he was an unregistered psychic. At the very least, he’d be fined.

  “What are you doing here?!” Ray asked them.

  “Looking to buy an Xbox.” Meg told him.

  Ray looked to Ryan, “What?”

  Ryan nodded.

  “Demons play videogames?” Ray appeared confused, “Or did they succeed in exorcising you?”

  “It’s complicated, but don’t worry about it.” Ryan waved his hand dismissively.

  Ray narrowed his eyes in suspicion, “If you try anything, I’m calling the cops.”

  “Calm down.” Ryan urged him.

  “These tits ain’t getting calm with a demon around.” Ray replied, “I know you freaks target psy- people like me first. Like fat kids on a Twinkie.”

  “He’s not a demon.” Meg crossed her arms but couldn’t but help wear a small amused smile.

  “Sure.” Ray was clearly not convinced, “You said you wanted an Xbox?” he figured the faster he served them, the faster they would leave.

  Meg nodded, “He’s a PC gamer, so I figure going Microsoft will be the easiest transition for him.” Meg then continued to explain the setup she wanted for him, and what games she had in mind.

  Ryan walked over to the wall of games and started looking at those that caught his attention, while Ray led Meg around the store.

  In the end, they walked out with an Xbox One Elite, an extra controller, a headset, and three games to start. Ray was only relieved to have them leave.

 

  Back at Ryan’s apartment most of the assembly was finished. The sun shades were the final thing being installed, so Ryan carried the TV to his bedroom and began mounting it, while Meg put the new sheets on his bed.

  With the TV secure and working, Ryan easily set up the Xbox, and Meg declared that they should make an evening out of it.

  Two pizzas and five Diet Cokes later they were sitting on the edge of Ryan’s bed laughing while the sky turned dark outside.

  Meg playfully elbowed Ryan and shouted out in frustration as he grabbed a power-up and used it to decimate her health.

  “Next time we’re playing co-op!” Meg yelled.

  “Don’t be a sore loser!” Ryan laughed back.

  Meg thumped him on the arm, “How are you good at this? You’re a PC gamer!”

  “I’ve played on an Xbox before; I’ve just never owned one.” Ryan admitted.

  “That’s cheating.” Meg feigned a pout.

  Ryan only laughed, “How is that cheating?!”

  “Next time I’m bringing my Wii U and we’re playing Mario Party. Good luck beating me at that!”

 

  After a few more rounds, Meg decided it was getting late, and she should head back home. She promised Ryan she would make him the dreamless draught for tomorrow night, and told him she hoped his place was to his liking.

  Ryan thanked her profusely for all she’d done, and told her he would check out her gym first thing in the morning.

  With that, she warped away.

  Ryan exhaled slowly. Meg had really helped distract him, but now he was alone again. He closed the pizza boxes and took them to the kitchen.

  After placing the leftovers in the fridge, he looked back out at his fully furnished apartment. It was incredible. He felt like he was living in a model home, but it was all his. The walls were still a bit plain and without any decoration, but he could live without. Besides, art was just another expense. Maybe he’d get a nice print or two eventually, but now, he was happy as is.

  He couldn’t help but smile. He didn’t know what Meg saw in him to take such a liking to him, but he really appreciated having her around. She had done so much for him.

  Ryan returned to his bedroom and changed out of his clothes. After brushing his teeth, he approached his bed and stared at it.

  What fresh hell was awaiting him tonight?

  Demon and Rye could sleep independently and not dream while they were at it. Ryan had tried to mimic it. Not only was it difficult to do without a clear divide in his mind, but the few times he had succeeded in getting half of himself to fall asleep, the other half was always soon to follow.

  He was just too tired to half sleep, and ended up in full slumber.

  Which meant he dreamed.

  He rarely remembered anything from the dreams outside of the emotional remnants and a few snippets, but they woke him often and stopped his sleep from being restful.

  With a sigh, Ryan slipped beneath the covers and closed his eyes.

 

  That night he had one of his most vivid dreams yet.

 

~*~

 

  _He was in an older apartment of his, from before he had moved to Austin. It was a small dingy place, poorly lit and infested with mice. The yellowed wallpaper was peeling up on the edges, and his ceiling was covered in water stains._

_He sighed. Of course, it had all been too good to be true. As if he would ever move up in the world or have people care for him. What a joke. This was where he belonged, wasn’t it?_

_A knock on his door caught his attention, and he went to answer it. Opening the old creaky door, he looked down to see two young boys in uniform. Boy Scouts._

_They were selling something._

_Bright eyed and full of life they held up a clipboard, asking for a donation in return for chocolate._

_Ryan was suddenly hungry, and he wasn’t interested in their chocolate._

_The boys shrieked bloody murder as Ryan’s hands tightened around the neck of the closest. The boy’s small frame fell limp and Ryan was immediately on top of him, while the other boy continued to scream._

_Ryan squeezed until blood poured from between his fingers and he felt bone break. He wore a wide grin as the metallic smell of fresh blood filled his head and urged him on. A growing ache in his teeth drove him mad until he tore through the boy’s shirt and into his flesh._

_Mouth full of blood and muscle, his ears rang and he realised the other boy had yet to stop screaming. Ryan turned to him, ready to silence him, but saw he was no longer alone._

_A crowd of horrified faces surrounded him, all watching._

_He looked down and saw the mutilated corpse of the child. What had he done?!_

_The faces grew furious, and Ryan opened his mouth to defend himself. But only the boy’s blood came pouring out._

_Suddenly the crowd was on him, shouting and yelling, grabbing his limbs. Their grip was steel and they pulled him down to the ground and began to drag him away._

_Ryan screamed, he fought them with all his strength, but it was hopeless. His face and hands were covered in the boy’s blood and the second he managed to grab anything, his fingers would slip free._

_He began to plead with the crowd until he was hoarse._

_In response they jabbed needles into him. Syringes filled with vile coloured liquids were plunged into his skin. All along his arms, chest, and legs, more and more needles came. Ryan’s eyes were filled with tears and his voice was so hoarse he could no longer cry out as stabbing burning pain bloomed throughout his body._

Ryan woke with a start. His brand new sheets were soaked through with sweat, and he could still feel the dream pain throughout his body. He took a moment to shake it out, and calm his pounding heart.

  A dream. That’s all it was.

  Moonlight streamed through his window, illuminating the room.

  He used it to locate his phone on his bedside table and check the time.

  5 AM.

  _Fucking great._ He groaned and rubbed his face. The details of his dream were already growing fuzzy, but the pain and smell of blood remained clear.

  He picked up his phone and searched up the gym Meg had recommended. It didn’t open until 6 AM.

  Another groan escaped him as he pushed himself up to sit on the edge of his bed. Why was this happening to him?

  Was this his punishment for all those Demon had killed?

  How was that even remotely fair?!

  He himself had only killed ONE person, and that person had attempted murder. It also wasn’t a kill for fun, it had been _survival_. Why was it haunting him so much? It didn’t make logical sense!

  As he tried to logic the guilt away, he knew why it bothered him so much. It was because his actions had been his and no one else’s.

  He had been in his right mind when it all went down.

  Which meant he could never trust himself again.

  Then he remembered what he had to do tonight. If he went through with it, he’d have to be careful not to get carried away.

  He doubted Jack’s suppression spell would work on him now. If he ended up hurting Jack or Geoff, he didn’t know what he would do.

  And what if he went too far with what they needed him to do, and ended up scaring them? Would they ever invite him back to a job?

  Ryan pulled at his hair before forcing himself to stand and get dressed.

 

~*~

 

  “Awesome work!” The dark haired and brown eyed trainer exclaimed. A wide grin was on his lips, surrounded by scruffy black stubble. He was shorter than Ryan but with far more muscle. He wore black shorts and a red tank with a name tag saying ‘Tyler’.

  Ryan was sure Tyler was probably a great guy, but right now he was only getting on his nerves.

  “Excellent! Now that you’re all warmed up and your blood’s pumping, let’s move to some equipment!” He said with far too much enthusiasm for 6:30 in the morning.

  Ryan followed him over to some punching bags hanging from a large metal frame.

  “Now my man, you said you had an interest in self defense, am I right?” Tyler asked and put his hands on a punching bag.

  Ryan wiped some sweat from the back of his neck, “Yeah.”

  Tyler gave the punching bag a good slap and stepped away, “Alright, then let’s teach you how to throw a punch!”

  The next few minutes were Tyler helping Ryan with his stance and leg position, before moving on to how to actually punch.

  “Keep your fist tight, and your thumb safely down from your knuckles.” Tyler showed Ryan his fist and urged him to follow suit, “You want to keep both your fists up by your face to defend against any incoming attack. This is your default posture.” He held up his fists and demonstrated the pose.

  Ryan did his best to mimic him.

  Tyler dropped the pose and turned to help Ryan better his, “Ok, good. Bring your elbows out a bit more – perfect! Be sure to keep your arms tense, if they’re loose then a hit will only have you punching yourself. Excellent! You’re a natural!”

  Ryan had a small smile even though he knew it was Tyler’s job to be motivational.

  “Right, so the next step is knowing how to hit. There are several things to keep in mind: first, you want to hit the bag with the knuckles of your hand, not the flat of the fingers – that’s how you end up breaking your own bones. Second, keep your wrist tight and straight, don’t let that sucker bend. You want your whole arm and hand parallel to the ground.” Tyler pointed out the key pieces using his own arm as an example. He moved directly in front of the punching bag and began to demonstrate a punch in slow motion, “See this twisting motion? It’s how you go from your defending stance, to a punch, and then back to defending. I want you to try it now.” He moved aside.

  Ryan shuffled over in front of the bag and did his best to return into the proper stance and posture.

  “Good! Now do the motion!” Tyler encouraged.

  He tried to remember everything he had been told. Who knew hitting something properly could be so complicated? Demon had never cared; he just hit people however he could.

  “Awesome!” Tyler cheered, “Now speed it up!”

  Ryan did as he was told. He repeated the motions and increased his speed as he went.

  Tyler watched him for a moment before clapping his hands together, “I think you’re ready to try and hit something now! Move closer to the bag.”

  Ryan shifted closer so that his knuckles would make contact at the apex of his punch.

  “Nah, closer, closer. Don’t worry! The bag won’t bite!” Tyler urged.

  Ryan obeyed, and felt like he was too close, but if that was where he should be, he wasn’t going to argue.

  “Alright, now remember everything I’ve told you and hit the bag. Ensure you use your weight to your advantage and throw it behind the swing. Hit with your right first, and then your left.”

  Ryan swung and hit the leather.

  “Ok, ok. I can tell you’re hesitating, though. It’s not natural to hit something with your full strength because that’s how you’d end up hurting yourself, but a punching bag is made for it. Don’t be scared of the impact.” Tyler coached.

  Ryan punched with his left and then his right.

  “You’re still pulling your punch at the last second. Try again.”

  Ryan threw his right fist forward and hit hard enough to make the bag swing.

  Tyler grabbed the bag to stop its swing, “Better! But here’s a tip, focus on a point just past the bag, and pretend that’s what you’re trying to hit. It will help you avoid the last minute hesitation. Alright?”

  Ryan nodded, “I’ll try.” He was starting to get frustrated at this point. He was trying his best, ok? Not his fault he kept on pulling his punches – he wasn’t doing it consciously!

  “Cool, now hit that sucker like it just spat on your shoes!” Tyler encouraged him.

  Ryan brought his arm down and back, putting his frustration into the swing.

  A loud shattering crack reverberated through the air as leather split and metal rattled, turning every head in the gym towards the source.

  Wide-eyed with his mouth agape, Ryan froze with his fist still extended. He hesitantly lowered his arm and looked to his trainer.

  Tyler had his eyes glued to the mess. He slowly put his hands on his hips, “Well shit.” He turned to Ryan, “You signed our equipment damage waiver, right?”

  Ryan swallowed. He had.

  The punching bag lay on the floor against the wall, its leather cover split along its length. Stuffing exploded outwards and left a trail from the metal stand all the way to the bag. Ryan had not only split open the bag, but torn it off its chain.

  “How much is this going to cost?” Ryan slouched down and ran his fingers through his hair nervously avoiding the astonished gazes of other patrons.

  Tyler was speechless and trying to find the words to express himself, “I have never seen anything like that… Are you positive you’re 100% human? No grandparent that mighta been something else? I’ve never – Is your hand ok?” his concern moved to Ryan.

  Ryan shook his wrist out. There was a dull ache in his hand, but it wasn’t bad at all, “I’m fine.”

  “Holy shit.” Tyler swore and moved his hands from his hips to cross them across his chest, “I’m – I’m going to go call my supervisor.” He turned around to see the Hispanic woman with long wavy black hair was leaning out of her office and staring at the carnage already.

  “What the fuck?!” The woman shouted, but not with anger, just shock.

  “This guy torn the bag down!” Tyler pointed a thumb at Ryan and laughed in disbelief, “Mariel, you gotta come out here and check it out!”

  Ryan could feel his face turning red as the supervisor took short swift steps forward.

  Mariel took a look at the damage and then at Ryan, “Someone’s been eating their Wheaties.” She turned to Tyler, “He signed the equipment damage papers right?”

  Tyler nodded.

  Mariel moved closer to inspect the damage and found that the metal bar that the bag’s chain was still attached to had acquired a bend, “We can put you on a payment plan.” She offered Ryan, “If you need it. Also we don’t cater to inhumans here – you declared you were human on one of the forms you had to sign. Are you a mix?”

  Ryan shrugged, “I honestly don’t know, this is my first time at a gym; I always assumed I was wholly human.”

  Mariel sighed and tapped her foot, “I mean, it could have been faulty equipment.” She gave Ryan a visual once over, “Any supernaturals in your family? Unusually strong relatives? I mean it’s no big deal if you pay off the damage, but it might be worth looking into finding a gym better suited to your needs. We can’t properly serve you here. Also, I’m banning you from using our equipment. Just so that this doesn’t happen again. Nothing personal.”

  With a sigh, Ryan nodded. Meg was just going to _love_ this, “That makes sense. I’m really sorry about this.”

  “You’re not something unregistered are ya? Or did you neglect to declare it?” Mariel had to cover her own ass.

  Ryan shook his head, “I’m not a psychic or any kind of ‘were’.”

  Mariel pulled out a key chain and flipped through it until she found a round circle of metal. She touched it against Ryan’s forearm.

  Ryan chuckled at her testing him with silver, “I told you.”

  Mariel shrugged, “Hey I have to make sure don’t I?”

  “And his blushing alone proves he’s no fang, either.” Tyler added.

  That observation only made Ryan blush harder in embarrassment.

  Mariel laughed “Yeah that’s clear. Ok bud, let’s figure out the cost for this mess.” She waved for him to follow her into her office, “Tyler, try and clean this up.” She told the trainer over her shoulder as she walked away.

 

  An hour and almost two grand later, Ryan was back at his apartment.

  That had been a disaster, but at least he hadn’t hurt anyone.

  He grabbed his laptop and lay himself down on his new couch, using a few pillows to prop up his head.

  After that ordeal it was clear in his mind that he couldn’t be human, or at the very least not fully human. There was more to him than what Demon had been – physical potential that wasn’t based on who was in charge of his body. He had always assumed that Demon used magic for his strength and speed, but this confirmed that it wasn’t. It was just a part of who he was.

  So what was he?

  Ryan decided to resort to his usual source for information: the internet.

  He started with a simple search for humanoid creatures and those that could cross breed with humans. Filtering the list down, he focused on those that were known to be inhumanely fast or strong.

  Unfortunately, most information was unconfirmed except with those creatures most heavily studied, and those creatures were always the nicer, friendlier kind.

  Something in Ryan’s mind told him that whatever he was, it wasn’t nice.

  He stumbled upon the wendigo, and felt that much of it matched what he himself had been experiencing. It was strong, fast, and even ate human flesh.

  But as he read more and saw some images of the creatures, he had to shake his head. Apparently the creatures were little more than ravenous beasts driven by nothing but their hunger for human. They hardly looked human – or at least – would not be mistaken for human upon a second glace.

  Ryan went back a few pages and tried to alter his search to focus on humanoid creatures that also ate human meat.

  He could be wrong with his hunch that his willingness to eat the cultist was important, but he felt that it was worth a shot.

  At the top of the list was Human.

  Ryan rolled his eyes, yeah okay, humans ate human meat, he wasn’t about to argue _that_ , but that’s not what he was looking for.

  Almost every member of the Fairy family of creatures came up in his search, from Fae, to Pixies, to even Sprites (which Ryan had always considered relatively benign).

 He passed over every mention of Nymphs, not wanting to remember their childish laughter.

  The mention of Dragons and Drakes surprised him, he would have never classified them as humanoid (or as real, for that matter), but apparently there were several myths mentioning the beasts as being able to pass for human. And then, of course, there were the theories as to what would motivate them to steal so many maidens.

  Sphynxes and Manticores only had humanoid faces, and were quite clearly not human.

  Was he maybe an incubus? They were called demons, but their having a physical form made that debatable – they didn’t actually possess people.

  He didn’t think he was one; he felt his behaviour didn’t fully support it… but… sex was good? He liked it, but he would never say he preyed on people for it…

  What defined it as preying? He started to go through all his past encounters and second guess himself. Incubi only had consensual encounters; luring people through physical attraction and flirting.

  Crap.

  Could that be any more ambiguous?

  Hesitantly he opened a few pages on the creatures and their female counterparts.

  He quickly learned that devil traps were a reliable way to test if “your potential lover is more insidious in motive”, and he did not like that one bit. Devil traps had long been his bane.

  ‘A hunger for human flesh’ could be metaphorical, right? He began to scroll. Maybe it was just another way to describe sexual lust; Incubi didn’t have to actually eat–

  His train of thought was halted as he happened upon a large centuries old oil painting of several succubi tearing apart a naked man while toasting with his blood in large goblets.

  Alright, so the hunger was more than just about sex.

  Discomfort twisted his gut. He didn’t like the parallels he was able to draw. Not everything fit – he couldn’t find anything about split personalities – but it was impossible to ignore the similarities.

  He thought about his parents, had he been adopted? It was the only way his siblings could have turned out as normal as they had.

  Or had his mother fallen for an incubus, and lied about it to his dad?

  Ryan rubbed his face and swore. He couldn’t exactly call up his mom and ask if she had been unfaithful.

  He closed his laptop with a loud _snap._ Why did everything have to be so difficult?

  With a deep breath, he checked the time. It was barely 2 PM. Moving his laptop aside he decided to finish off the last of the leftover pizza for lunch.

  It was a quick meal, but tasty, and Ryan found himself staring at his laptop from his position in the kitchen. He had a bunch of time before having to meet up with Jack and Geoff at eight. He may as well see what else the internet could tell him.

 

  A few pages of “Are sex addicts in/succubi?” and “How to tell if my lover is a demon” articles later, Ryan was only more confused. He even debated leaving an anonymous ask on a forum or Yahoo answers, but decided against it. He couldn’t risk admitting to murder, or even implying it.

  Frustrated with a lack of a definitive solution, he backtracked and returned to looking up creatures.

  The next rabbit hole he was drawn down was that of lesser pagan gods and guardians. Almost all of them would eat human, and it fit nicely with Jack’s “offering” theory. It was such a broad category that every time he found any type of blanket statement or something he thought important, there was always another example contradicting it. It was as if no one really knew enough about the topic outside of the rituals required to please the damned things.

  Then there were demi-gods, and that was yet another rabbit hole to fall in. If any of the countless gods bred with humans, a half breed would result, and their powers were just as varied (if not more so) than the gods themselves.

  Ryan threw his head back with a groan when he read that it was also theorised that if someone possessed by a demon or daemon conceived a child, that child could have powers as well.

  Yet another article argued that all gods were really just particularly powerful demons or daemons.

  His research was getting him nowhere, and he was becoming more convinced that only Jack would be able to find the truth for him.

 

  It was nearing time for him to start getting ready for work, so he closed the laptop and went to find clothing he could get bloody without worry.

  Settling on a plain black tee and old worn out jeans, he grabbed his keys and phone before heading to the door.

  He wasn’t looking forward to this.

 

~*~

 

  Getting out of his car, Ryan saw Geoff turn towards him with an angry expression. The man was leaning up against Jack’s black SUV with Jack standing before him.

  Seeing Geoff’s expression turn sour, Jack followed where he was looking and saw Ryan. He frowned.

  They were in a carpool lot by a large bus terminal. The lot was well lit with a steady trickle of traffic passing through.

  Ryan hesitated in approaching the duo.

  “Look who the fuck decided to show up.” Geoff pushed himself up off of Jack’s SUV, “Who do you think you are? Going dead silent? Not answering your messages?”

  Ryan gathered his courage and went over to them, “Look, I’m sorry. I just didn’t think–”

  “That’s right, you _didn’t_ think.” Geoff interrupted him, “For all I know Demon could have been gallivanting about on a murder spree and holding you hostage!”

  Jack looked at Ryan with caring eyes, “We were worried about you. Please don’t do that again.”

  “I needed time to think. I shouldn’t have gone silent, but the last thing I wanted to do was talk about that night.” Ryan confessed, “It wasn’t… good for me.”

  “It wasn’t good for any of us.” Jack told him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

  “Yeah, but we weren’t the ones trying to eat anyone.” Geoff pointed out offhandedly.

  “Thanks.” Jack gave Geoff a sarcastic glare.

  “Whatever.” Geoff waved him away and then asked Ryan, “So you good for tonight if we need Demon?”

  Ryan decided to be partially honest, “I don’t know. I’m hesitant about letting him out again… after all that mess… I don’t want either of you to get hurt, or – it sounds a bit silly but – I don’t want you to get scared of what he’s capable of and decide you’re better off without.” He gave them a nervous smile.

  Geoff broke into a genuine laugh at that, “Ryan, you have no idea what I’ve seen. You will not be spooking us any time soon. And as for hurting us, well shit, are you forgetting that I have magic at my disposal? If some nymphs got the better of Demon, I’m more than capable of doing the same.”

  Ryan was clearly unconvinced.

  “It will be fine. We won’t force you to give Demon control if you absolutely don’t want to.” Jack comforted.

  “Well that kinda makes my being here pointless, doesn’t it?” Ryan asked, “You really hired Demon and not me.”

  Jack gave a quick look to Geoff.

  Geoff caught it, “Dude, no! You were a two-for-one! Hell of a deal too; one salary and I get the best of both worlds. Demon or not, you’re a part of this team.”

  “You sure about that? I don’t know shit about magic or… this kind of business.” Ryan argued.

  “You’re another head and additional set of hands. It might not sound like much, but in this business it’s incredibly hard to find those you can trust.” Jack met his argument, “And say what you want, but you would _not_ have the job if we couldn’t trust you.”

  Geoff peeked at his phone, “Alright, enough with this for now, we have a flight to catch and knees to break.”

  They got into Jack’s SUV and Jack began to drive them to their destination.

  “A flight?” Ryan used his curiosity to break the quiet.

  “Not ours, but someone else’s. Gotta stop them before they fuck off to another country.” Geoff lazily explained, “They’re trying to skip out on paying me.”

  “Oh. How much?” Ryan asked.

  “Two million. It’s not huge, but I want that money.” Geoff scratched his beard.

  Ryan couldn’t help but disagree about two million being a small amount, “What did he buy?”

  Geoff turned to Jack in the driver’s seat, “I forget the proper name of it, but it was a dagger.”

  Jack answered the unspoken ask, “The Sanguine Stiletto.”

  Geoff snapped his fingers, “Yep that’s it. I was trying to remember shoe names.”

  “Sounds unfriendly.” Ryan commented.

  “Tell me of a friendly named weapon, and I’d be surprised.” Geoff replied.

  Jack cocked his head as he tried to come up with one, “Big Bertha?”

  “Nah,” Geoff shook his head, “Sounds like a burly woman who would throw you out of a bar after giving you a good beat down.”

  Ryan chuckled at that, and tried to think of another weapon name that could potentially be friendly, “What about warships? They have the names of people sometimes don’t they?”

  “That’s a different kind of weapon, I meant like a sword or gun. Something you can wield.” Geoff clarified, “If I sold warships, I’d be in a different business altogether.”

  “Morning star?” Ryan suggested.

  “That’s a type of weapon – doesn’t count.” Geoff dismissed.

  “I’d argue it does.” Jack stated.

  “You could name a morning star ‘Gore Maul Carnage Maker’. It will not be friendly.” Geoff argued.

  “But it would still be called a morning star.” Ryan countered.

  “That doesn’t count!” Geoff raised his voice.

  “Well if I ever get to name a weapon, I’m going to make sure it sounds friendly.” Ryan tried to end discussion with that.

  “There’s nothing friendly about stars.” Geoff muttered to himself.

  “Technically, the Morning Star is actually Venus, so it’s not even a star.” Ryan felt the need to tell him.

  “And Venus is named after a goddess of love.” Jack added.

  “But it does rain acid on Venus.” Ryan admitted as if it proved some kind of point.

  “It’s not like medieval weapon smiths knew that though.” Jack replied.

 

  Geoff waved them silent as Jack drove into a small airfield. They continued past the parking lot until finally stopping right in front of the open doors of an aircraft hangar.

  The interior of the hangar was well lit and held several aircraft, as well as large wheeled toolboxes and miscellaneous supplies. One Cessna was in the middle of the hangar floor and pointed towards the doors now blocked by Jack’s big black SUV.

  Some suitcases and boxes sat next to Cessna, with a short bald man in heavy rimmed tortoiseshell glasses fussing over them.

  Noticing the SUV, he stood up straight, and yelled something out. Another man, this one thin with a long brown beard and brushed back hair, hopped out of the plane at his yell. The two of them anxiously watched the SUV.

  Inside the SUV, Geoff put his hand on the door handle, “Alright boys, it’s show time. Follow my lead.” He said the last part to Ryan specifically, before pushing open the door and stepping out.

  Jack pulled out what looked like a large sketchbook, slipped it under his arm, and left the vehicle to go and follow Geoff.

  Ryan entered a neutral, if somewhat disgruntled, expression and made his way out of the SUV. He did his best to maintain the face and followed a few steps behind Geoff with slow purposeful strides.

  Geoff approached the bald man, stopping a few paces away from him and crossing his arms, “You taking a trip somewhere, Darryl?”

  Jack stepped up on Geoff’s left, and Ryan took his right.

  Darryl’s sneakers squeaked on the polished concrete floor as he took fearful step back, “Oh h-hey Ramsey. W-what are you doing here?”

  The bearded man looked at Darryl, “What’s going on here?”

  “I want the two million you owe me. Now. And I’m going to take whatever I need to, to get it.” Geoff threatened, “Pay up, and you can fuck off to Antarctica, for all I care.”

  The bearded man blinked in surprise and put his hands up in front of his chest, “Whoa, whoa. Whatever this is, I’m not part of it. I’m just a pilot – he paid me for the flight, I don’t know anything about this.”

  Geoff appeared to size the pilot up, before jabbing his thumb towards the hangar door, “Get your ass outta here before I change my mind.”

  The pilot didn’t need to be told twice. He hurried out of the hangar, only giving the group one final glance over his shoulder before sprinting off.

 “Look, about the money–” Darryl started.

  “Where is it? Don’t tell me you were planning on just keeping the stiletto for free?” Geoff lifted an eyebrow and stared the man down.

  “No, of course not! I just need some more time, I–” Darryl tried to lie.

  “If you can’t pay up, then I’m willing to take back the stiletto.” Geoff offered, “Of course, I’ll still need compensation for all my wasted time, but it will be far less than the two mil you owe me.”

  “I just need some more time.” Darryl pleaded.

  Ryan found himself taking sick pleasure at how the man squirmed, and his lip ever so slightly curled upwards.

  “Where’s the fucking stiletto, Darryl?” Geoff asked with a light tone that suggested he already knew Darryl no longer had it.

  “Please, I can pay, just give me–”

  “I’ve given you more than enough time! Don’t buy shit you can’t afford!” Geoff bellowed at him, “Where’s the stiletto?!” Geoff advanced on him, taking a couple more steps towards him.

  Darryl tried to back away from Geoff and his legs hit his suitcase, stopping him, “I can’t–”

  Geoff kept his voice raised, “’Can’t’ what, Darryl?!”

  “Please, Ramsey – I don’t have the dagger, I sold it.” Darryl curled in on himself in anticipation of Geoff’s anger.

  “YOU DID WHAT?!” Geoff screamed and grabbed Darryl by the collar.

  Darryl forced his dry mouth to swallow, and avoided Geoff’s furious glare as best he could, “I sold it!” He confessed once more.

  Geoff released Darryl and took a few steps back. Without breaking his glare at Darryl, he called out, “Ryan.”

  Ryan cracked his knuckles and came forward, doing his best to appear intimidating. It seemed to be working. He let himself to break into a full smirk.

  Darryl was terrified and tried to back away further, hitting his suitcase again and falling over his luggage. He did his best to push himself away and put up a hand to stay Ryan’s advance, “Wait! You don’t understand! Please!”

  Geoff held up a hand, and Ryan halted, “I think I understand well enough, but just because I’m feeling generous, how about you tell me _why_ you could have possibly thought cheating me was a good idea.”

  Darryl gulped and his eyes flitted between Geoff and Ryan who was now standing over him with his arms crossed and an eager look on his face, “I owed some guys a lot of money – they were willing to drop it if I could manage to get them the stiletto.” He swallowed again and took a breath, “These guys, they – you don’t fuck with them alright?”

  “So you were stuck between a rock and a hard place, and decided that I was the one you were gonna short, huh?” Geoff let anger seep into each word, “That was the wrong decision, Darryl.”

  Jack spoke up before Geoff could order Ryan back on the guy, “Who did you sell it to?” He asked calmly.

  Darryl had seemed to have forgotten Jack was there at all, and jumped at his voice, “They operate out of L.A. Headed by a guy called Kovic. They- they said they would,” His hands were shaking by this point, “tear out my entire nervous system by the eyes. They know some serious black magic shit, they’d do it, I saw what they did to the last guy.”

  Geoff’s hands had curled into tightly clenched fists, “Fuckin’ Kovic...” He swore with a deep hatred. The moment passed, and he glared back down at Darryl, “You fucking made the wrong choice. Those guys are nothing but amateurs compared to me. I _made_ this industry – they just decided to jump on the bandwagon.” In order to emphasise the point Geoff conjured green flames from his hands, letting them flicker and curl up his arms without harm.

  The heat from the fire was real enough, and it made Ryan inch away cautiously.

  Darryl’s eyes went completely wide, “Shit!” he exclaimed and defensively covered his face with an arm, “I didn’t know!”

  Geoff extinguished the fire with a thought, “That’s fucking right. Did you honestly think that that boy band of Californian morons were the only ones with magic?”

  “I’m sorry!”  Darryl wailed.

  Geoff turned away from him with a scoff and gave Ryan a look, “He’s all yours. Make it _slow_.”

  Ryan looked back at Geoff and then to Jack. Both were watching him, waiting. This was it. Could he do it?

  “No wait! Please!” Darryl finally pushed himself up onto his feet.

  Ryan sized Darryl up with narrowed eyes. He wasn’t going to be a challenge, a minimal fight and then even less of a struggle. He resumed his advance, not knowing exactly what it was he was going to do once his hands were on him. He’d figure it out as he went.

  He did, after all, have all of Demon’s memories – all of his _experience._

  Darryl broke into a sprint away from them and towards the back of the hangar. It caused something within Ryan to snap into action. Next thing anyone knew, Ryan had closed the distance between him and Darryl, and tackled him to the ground. Ryan was pinning Darryl with a hand around his neck and another securely gripping his upper arm.

  It took a moment for Geoff and Jack to process what series of events had just transpired, and they flinched forward as if to run after Ryan. They looked to each other with concern, but lowered their guard, and began to observe silently.

  Darryl’s head had hit the floor in the tackle, and a trickle of blood ran down from his hairline. He gasped and used his free hand to grab the one Ryan had around his neck.

  Ryan looked down at his prey with a sneer, teeth bared. The smell of freshly spilled blood was just so _enticing_.

  Geoff turned to Jack and whispered, “Should I mention that choking is a relatively ok way to go? Like, not that that slow or painful… comparatively.”

  “Are we not watching the same fucking thing here?!” Jack furiously whispered back, “Did you not see how he fucking closed that distance?!”

  Geoff shifted uncomfortably and crossed his arms, “Yeah, but, like, he works for _us._ ”

  “Until he doesn’t!”

  Ryan could hear the whole conversation. He lost his sneer and gave a long solemn sigh, releasing Darryl’s neck. He twisted his upper body so that he could easily face Jack and Geoff behind him.

  The two men froze as they noticed Ryan’s blue eyes on them.

  Geoff slapped Jack’s arm, “See? He fucking heard you!”

  “What the hell was that?” Ryan asked them accusingly.

  Darryl knew not to interrupt now that attention was no longer on him. He stilled, feeling his arm begin to go numb under Ryan’s grip.

  “Nothing. Just do your thing.” Geoff waved him on. He wasn’t going to interrupt Demon’s fun.

  Ryan moved his gaze to Jack, “Jack? Don’t trust me yet?”

  Jack huffed, crossing his arms, “I thought it would be pretty obvious I’m not going to trust you, Demon.”

  _Right,_ Ryan realised that to them he was Demon now, but then a thought struck him, “So why bother mentioning it?” he probed, his eyes narrowing with suspicion.

  “Because I know you can be fickle.” Jack covered himself with that one, before continuing, “Just do your thing. Whatever comes naturally.”

  Ryan’s free hand clenched. He let go of Darryl’s arm and stood up.

  Darryl was relieved for only a few seconds before Ryan put his foot down on his collar bone, keeping him in place with surprising security.

  Ryan may have been pinning Darryl down like a bug, but his full attention was now on Jack, “What comes _naturally?_ ” there was an underlying anger in his words.

  Jack’s eyes widened, but he caught himself and scowled, “Well yeah, how else would you describe it? Want a different word?!”

  Geoff was surprisingly calm, lazily looking over at Jack with hooded eyes and the faintest ghost of amusement on his lips.

  Ryan was not blind to either Jack or Geoff, and he decided that Darryl could be his leverage in finally figuring out what they were hiding, “What are you two not telling me?!”

  A smug smile flickered across Geoff’s face as he watched Jack.

  Jack gave Geoff a furious glare, and then turned it to Ryan, “This is hardly the time for that!”

  “So there is something!” Ryan confirmed out loud, even though he had been sure of it already.

  “I’ll talk to Rye, not you.” Jack told him, “Finish your job.”

  Ryan narrowed his gaze and growled, “You tell me now, or you’re dealing with Darryl on your own.”

  Jack looked absolutely livid, but most of his anger was as a result of Geoff’s ‘I told you so’ smugness burning a hole in his side. Jack wasn’t about to roll over just because he was being cornered by two assholes. He pulled his sketchbook out from under his arm and flipped through the pages. Finding what he was looking for, he tore out a page. The book had perforated pages, making the action quick and easy.

  Darryl felt the weight on his chest let up as his captor became wary in reaction to whatever he saw on the page.

  Jack placed the paper on the floor. On it was drawn a complex summoning circle just slightly smaller than a dinner plate. Once down, the lines of the circle began to glow blue.

  The glow increased in intensity quickly, burning away the paper it had originated from, until only the lines remained. Much like in the woods, a bright burning white dot formed in the center of the circle, but this time when it opened up into a portal, it was parallel to the ground. The portal stretched to the size of the circle, and its center was solid black.

  Almost as soon as the portal reached its full size, something stirred within and began to make its way through.

  “Oh god not Jimmy…” Geoff recognised who it was and moved far away from the portal with a violent shudder.

  A long, segmented, and hard shelled leg the colour of yellowing cream emerged to test the ground hesitantly. It appeared to be a mix of spider and crab: it was long and slender like a spider’s, but the shell was smooth without hair, and terminated in one sharp point.

  Seemingly satisfied with the stability of the ground, more legs began to pour through the portal. The creature was much like a centipede; all legs and little else. It didn’t even appear to have eyes.

  Ryan was only relieved when the creature – Jimmy – finally finished crawling through the portal and proved that it had an end. It was close to eight feet long and its narrow body was segmented every five pairs of legs.

  Jimmy lifted (what must have been) the front of its body up into the air a good three feet high. Legs squirmed as it surveyed the situation, and along its long abdomen multiple proboscises were revealed. There was one proboscis per segment, and while they were normally held flat against the creature’s body, they now waved about, tasting the air.

  “What the fuck?!” Ryan released Darryl and stepped back.

  That gave Darryl the freedom to turn and finally see what was going on. He screamed, scrambling onto his feet.

  Jimmy moved horrifically quick, wrapping its body around Darryl.

  Darryl struggled and pulled at Jimmy in every attempt to dislodge him. It even looked as if he was winning as he managed to break and pull apart Jimmy’s long body where its segmented sections joined.

  But as each segment fell to the floor, it simply righted itself on its ten spindly legs and leapt back onto Darryl’s body.

  Darryl’s screams only increased in pitch as each segment of Jimmy began to latch on to him with vice-like strength and sink in its proboscis.

  All blood gone from his face, Ryan only moved further away as Darryl dropped back to the ground. He couldn’t look away as Jimmy made quick work out of draining Darryl of all his life fluids.

  Engorged by the meal, Jimmy’s movements slowed and became clumsier. Some segments even detached from the main body without any kind of outside force. Done with Darryl, Jimmy’s pieces appeared almost drunk, as they began to stagger and trip over their own legs on the way back to the portal.

  Jack didn’t bother watch as Jimmy began to fall back into the portal, “Do you understand now, Demon?”

  Ryan tore his eyes away from Darryl’s freshly mummified body.

  “You don’t hold the power in this arrangement.” Jack stared Ryan down. The portal closed as the last leg was pulled through, and then the summoning circle blinked out of existence.

  Ryan was unsure how to respond. The summoning had definitely made his fear greater than his anger, but in the face of what he saw as injustice, his anger was quick to flare up again, “I respect your and Geoff’s authority, but only in the job! What you’re hiding clearly has something to do with me, and I need to know! You do not rule my personal life!” He realised how far away he was from them, and decided to move closer, ensuring he was between them and Jack’s SUV.

  Ryan’s blocking their escape did not go unnoticed.

  “What do you plan to do, Demon?” Jack began to walk towards him, “Hold us hostage?”

  Ryan backed away to keep the distance between them constant. He trusted Jack not to hurt him, but wasn’t sure if he trusted himself not to hurt Jack in frustration or anger.

  “Alright, you two children need to calm the fuck down. You’re giving me a headache.” Geoff pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes with a sigh.

  “You’re going to tell me the truth!” Ryan quickly looked over his shoulder to see how far he was from the SUV, and seeing that he was only a couple feet away now, he stopped moving.

  “I already told you: this isn’t something I’m discussing with _you_ , Demon!” Jack slashed his hand through the air.

  “Can we discuss this in the car?” Geoff was standing a few feet behind Jack.

  Both men glared at Geoff, making him just shrug in response.

  “Fine, but when someone happens upon this mess and we’re all still here, I’m warping out and leaving you two assholes behind.” Geoff warned them.

  Ryan’s fists were balled up tight. He tried to guess at what secret they were keeping, “Are you holding out on how to get rid of Demon? Because then I’d no longer be useful?!” he was too angry to remember to pretend he was Demon.

  “What? Wait, is this still Rye?” Jack’s face paled as anger drained and horror began to set in. Had Rye been about to commit murder? That wasn’t possible, Rye couldn’t use Demon’s powers, and that tackle had been done with inhuman speed.

  “FUCK!” Ryan shouted at his slip. He spun around and kicked out at the back tire of Jack’s SUV in an effort to release some of his rage at spilling his own secret.

  The force of the kick was impressive. The back end of the SUV rose up into the air with the front tires remaining on the ground. It swung around almost a full ninety degrees before thumping back down.

  Ryan stared, memories from the gym clear in his head. He didn’t dare turn back around to see the expressions on the faces of his friends.

  With a clang, a hubcap fell to the pavement, making Ryan wince.

  “… _Ryan?_ ” Jack’s voice fell quiet.

  Ryan could swear he heard fear in it. He let his shoulders drop, “Demon and Rye are gone, Jack.” He turned back to face them, “It’s just me… and I don’t know who or what I am.”

  Geoff’s irritated attitude immediately turned concerned, “What do you mean?”

  “I thought Demon was the one with powers, but he’s _gone,_ Geoff. And I don’t have Rye to stop me – to hold me back…” Ryan tried to explain, “I need to know what I am, and if you know _anything_ that can help me, I need it. Because,” Ryan dropped his gaze to the ground, “I think I’m going to hurt someone. Soon. And it won’t be Demon’s fault, it will be _mine_ , and I don’t think I’ll even feel guilty for it.”

  “How long has it been like this?” Geoff had carefully stepped up next to Jack.

  Ryan sighed, “Since the woods.”

  “When in the woods?” Jack asked.

  Ryan made a short low whine, before answering, “It would have been the morning of the… uh, attack. I attacked you guys without Demon. I was entirely me. I remember it all: I wasn’t ‘off’ or anything. I was just hungry, and you guys were the solution to that.”

  “Right after being attacked by nymphs?” Jack tried to lay out to progression of events. Had the nymphs done something to Ryan? If they had used magic, he would have been oblivious to it. Would nymph magic even work on a Smiling Stranger?

  “Does it matter?!” Ryan’s impatience was clear. He had explained his secret; it was only fair they tell him theirs.

  “Nymphs are fairies, Ryan. They could be the reason for all of this.” Geoff told him, “Did they try and feed you anything?”

  Ryan swallowed, “I- I maybe _might_ have eaten some meat they gave me.”

  “Fuck.” Geoff shook his head and looked at Jack, before turning back to Ryan, “Fairy food is – it’s something else. It’s never just food. Haven’t you ever heard about not eating anything a fairy gives you?”

  “Look, I was starving, and how was I supposed to know that nymphs counted as fairies?! I thought it was just Fae!” Ryan tried to defend himself.

  “What kind of meat was it?” Jack asked with a far too serious expression.

  “I don’t know. It was cut up into these little steaks.” Ryan demonstrated the size with his fingers, “But it tasted amazing, and I wasn’t going to say no to free food while harving.”

  “Harving?” Geoff cocked his head.

  “I meant ‘starving’!” Ryan didn’t have the patience for this. He had tried to say both ‘hungry’ and ‘starving’ at the same time.

  “What did it taste like, beyond ‘good’?” Jack ignored Geoff.

  “Why does it matter?!” Ryan asked for the second time. He was convinced Jack was just drawing out the conversation at this point.

  “Did it taste like pork, but not?” Jack asked.

  Ryan figured it was in his best interest to just humour him, “Yes, like a really good pork chop, but not quite the same. But it was unseasoned and god knows what they did to it. I was also starving, so I remember it tasting way better than it probably did in actuality.”

  Jack looked to Geoff with worry, but Geoff was lost as to what Jack was getting at.

  “Ryan, you ate human. Fairy food human.” Jack informed both Ryan and Geoff.

  “You can’t be sure of that.” Geoff was now wearing the same worry as Jack, “It could have been boar or some shit.”

  “Sure, they gave him fresh boar the morning after killing four cultists.” Jack sounded annoyed at Geoff.

  Ryan’s mind was racing with this new information. Would eating fairy touched human meat make you seek out more? Turn you into a compulsive cannibal? In that case, what had happened to Demon and Rye? Why would they be a part of that?

  Jack sighed. He could see how confused Ryan was, and now knowing that the man’s world had been turned upside-down, he really couldn’t justify holding out any longer. In this scenario, it was actually safer to have Ryan learn what he is than risk a bloody trail of self discovery. Ryan was directionless with little to lose, and that made anyone dangerous.

  “Ryan, I’m going to tell you the truth here, and please don’t freak out. There’s a reason why I made Geoff swear we weren’t going to tell you.” Jack put out his hands calmingly, “But can we please talk in the car? Assuming it can still drive? We can’t risk someone overhearing us.”

  Ryan was impatient, and hesitant to delay the truth any longer for fear that they would find yet another way to elude telling him, but knew that they couldn’t stand here forever, “Fine, but you’re telling me everything… And you’re gonna answer all my questions.”

  Jack nodded, “I will tell you everything I know.”

  Ryan nodded and moved aside slightly to show that they were welcome to approach the vehicle.

  Jack hopped up into the driver’s seat, Geoff climbing up next to him into the passenger side, while Ryan pulled himself up behind them.

  As Jack turned the key in the ignition, several warning lights lit up on the dashboard.

  “Oh boy.” Geoff muttered, “Those look angry.”

  Jack’s breath hissed as he let it out, “Check transmission, check brakes, and low tire pressure.” He looked over his shoulder at Ryan, “You couldn’t have taken your anger out on something else?” He shifted into drive and tested the gas.

  The SUV jerked into motion, and he guided it out and around back towards the road.

  “Since my other option was one of you, I think I did ok.” Ryan defended his actions.

  As the vehicle gained speed, a thumping began to sound from the back driver’s side tire.

  Jack swore, “If that isn’t a flat, it will be soon.”

  “What do you want me to do? Call triple A? This close to a murder?” Geoff’s voice cracked as he argued.

  Ryan draped an arm around the back of each of their seats and leaned forward. He dragged them back on topic, “So about what you promised to tell me?!”

  Pulling onto the street, Jack flicked his hazards on and drove slowly, clearly worried about the source of the thumping and attempting to keep it to a minimum.

  “You’re not human. Never have been.” Jack wasn’t sure where to start, but figured that was as good of an opener as any.

  “Basically you just look human.” Geoff added, “But that’s it.”

  Ryan looked to Geoff and then to Jack, noticing how both of them were avoiding looking at him, “So what am I?”

  “You’re a creature called a ‘Smiling Stranger’.” Jack stated.

  Ryan was an absolute mix of emotions with this information. Happy that they were finally telling him. Anger still lingering from before, and ready to return. Relieved that he wasn’t an incubus or just insane. But most of all, he was both confused and curious as to what a smiling stranger was. Why had he never heard of such a creature before?

  “What the hell is a smiling stranger?” Ryan finally asked.

  Jack was relieved that Ryan was now genuinely curious and no longer furious, “It’s a predator.”

  “Not the child kind – even though the name kinda sounds like a guy you’d find in a van handing out candy.” Geoff added.

  “I can tell you everything I’ve managed to learn about smiling strangers, but there’s still a lot no one seems to know. So if I can’t answer a question, I apologise in advance.” Jack felt the disclaimer was necessary, “I mean, I only learned that they existed while I was doing research into you and Demon.”

  “So try not to get angry. We did the best we could getting what we have.” Geoff turned to look at Ryan and gauge his reaction.

  “What kind of creature am I? A predator of what?” Ryan Haywood wasn’t human. It felt like such a foreign thing to think, even though he himself had begun to suspect it. What did this mean for him?

  “A smiling stranger is a highly specialised ambush predator that hunts and eats human flesh.” Jack’s voice was monotone as if he were reading from a textbook, “They are stronger, faster, and far more durable than their prey.”

  “According to Burnie, you’re better than human in every conceivable way, but seeing as he says the same about himself, we know it’s not true.” Geoff shrugged.

  “Wait, your fae friend knows?” Ryan looked to Geoff, “You told him before you told me?”

  Geoff shook his head, “No. Apparently fae can detect a smiling stranger just by looking at them. When he met you he figured it out real quick. Smiling strangers and fae don’t traditionally get along. He says it’s because the two species are both ‘lying manipulative assholes’ and with both fae and strangers historically eating human – it bred bad blood.” Geoff then remembered, “Oh and also both of your species do the whole changeling thing too, so that’s another point of contention.”

  Ryan was quiet before speaking in a near whisper, “So I’m not the ‘real’ James Haywood.” He thought about it, “And my real parents probably ate the real James… didn’t they?”

  “We can’t know for sure, but that seems the most likely situation. If it helps, just think of it as being adopted.” Jack tried to sound compassionate even though it was quite grim.

  “Mom, Dad, I’m adopted.” Ryan’s sense of humour was returning, “Also I eat people.”

  “Well you don’t _have_ to. That much is clear seeing as the nymphs probably were the first time you ever ate human.” Jack was optimistic.

  “So what about Demon and Rye? How does that work? And if I’m supposed to hunt people, why would Demon just play with them and never eat them?” Ryan didn’t want to reveal that he had never even considered eating human until the woods, because now he was dreaming of it. If he was dreaming of eating human ever since the nymphs had fed him some…  It had clearly triggered some sort of instinct his unconscious mind wanted him to act upon. Ryan figured this would be a bad thing to mention while trapped in a small metal box with two humans.

  “They made figuring out what you are difficult. I’m not a psychiatrist by any means, but my theory is that forcing you to think human really fucked you up. Some form of personifying all your instincts as an ‘other’ and then making who you thought you should be into your main persona. The heavy medication probably helped a lot.” Jack told him his thoughts on the matter.

  “Then why are they gone? And why didn’t Demon eat people?” Ryan had plenty more questions, but was doing his best to remain patient and take in as much information as possible.

  “Fairy food is weird. Maybe if it had been fairy pork you would still have Demon and Rye, but fairy human… It could have… healed you? Or I guess that’s not the right word – maybe more like ‘reset’? Either way it sounds like it turned you back into a predator instead of just being a murderer.” Geoff thought about it, “Not sure if I’m comfortable with that, honestly, but we’ll work things out.”

  “As for why Demon didn’t eat people – I have this analogy I told Geoff about cats. A pet cat still chases and kills prey but doesn’t eat them,” Jack began.

  Ryan knew exactly where he was going and concluded the thought, “Because kibble is food and mice are toys. Without hunger, prey is entertainment.” He took a breath, “That’s why you were so concerned about keeping me fed.” Well that all made sense now.

  “Yeah, sorry. Figured that Demon would be more likely to show when you were hungry.” Geoff apologised.

  “So how long have you two known what I am? It has to have been a while… Why did you decide not to tell me?” Ryan was feeling too emotionally drained at this point to be angry. He just wanted the truth.

  “Jack figured it out within the week after you were hired.” Geoff looked to Jack.

  “Seriously?! That long?!” Ryan had thought it to be a more recent discovery.

  “I decided it was best not to tell you, because you seemed to be struggling with controlling Demon. Knowing what Demon was doing was pretty much natural and what you were ‘supposed” to do would have only made him more persuasive, and potentially more dangerous.” Jack explained.

  Ryan turned to Jack, “I understand, but that wasn’t your call to make.” He scolded.

  “Sorry for not wanting to die!” Jack protested.

  Ryan shook his head, “Whatever.” He mentally went through what they had told him and found another question, “Does this mean I have a weakness? Like a stake through the heart? I know it ain’t silver.”

  “Let’s just say humans have been trying to detect and kill smiling strangers for centuries, and the one piece of documentation I could find where they claimed to have killed one, had the whole village burning down the next day.”

  “I’m taking that as a no, then?” Ryan asked.

  “Don’t go thinking you’re invincible. Burnie said that extreme dismemberment or being burned would probably do it as long as it wasn’t done with magic.” Geoff warned. The last thing he wanted was Ryan jumping off of buildings or getting reckless.

  Ryan immediately picked up on the exception, “Why not with magic?”

  “Smiling strangers are basically the anti-fae. Fae are incredibly powerful magic casters that live on the stuff, while strangers are magic negating. You can cancel out magic, nullify it. Which is another reason fae hate smiling strangers, because your power can render them helpless if not kill them altogether.” Geoff relayed what he knew.

  “It’s because humans are a magic wielding species, and in order to hunt a magic wielding species, you have to either become better than them at it–” Jack started.

  “Like fae.” Geoff interjected.

  “Or learn how to get rid of the magic.” Jack continued.

  “Like smiling strangers.” Geoff said with a smile.

  “I don’t think that’s something I can do…” Ryan admitted, “I mean, if I could, I would be able to break devil’s traps, wouldn’t I?”

  “It’s not like it’s something you’ve practiced. I’m sure you could if you learned how.” Jack felt strange encouraging Ryan to break the one form of containment they had for him.

  “We can be sure the potential exists within you.” Geoff stated, and then explained, “Remember the Eyes of Anubis? Burnie teased your negation power with his magic until it broke the curse on Jack.”

  “And having him pull that negation through my body, I can tell you that it does just that. It felt like you were sucking out my soul.” Jack hadn’t shared that before, and Geoff gave him a surprised look.

  “Yeah, and then _I_ fucking fainted!” Ryan chuckled.

  “Virgin.” Geoff muttered with a snort.

  Ryan shot Geoff a soft glare, but Jack spoke before he could retort, “Geoff’s probably right: that may have been the first time you ever used your power – even if you didn’t know that’s what you were doing.”

  Ryan removed his arms from around their seats and leaned back. He crossed his arms and fell into thought.

  Jack glanced into the rear-view mirror to check on him, “You alright?”

  Ryan was startled back to the present, “Yeah, just have a lot to think about… Hey, do you think magic negation could be magic destruction?”

  Geoff turned in his seat to look at Ryan, “Why are you asking?”

  Ryan’s mind began to replay the events of Trevor’s rescue. How the necklace’s magic had tried to affect him and how he had violently pushed it back until the whole thing exploded. It had dissolved in his hand and then he had fainted. It hadn’t felt like negation; it had felt devastatingly destructive.

  Seeing how Ryan had disappeared into his own thoughts again, Geoff snapped his fingers, “Hey! What are you brooding about back there?”

  “Would you guys mind helping me figure it out? I realise it might not be in your best interest… but I’d like to practice and learn to control it.” Ryan wasn’t sure who else he could ask. Maybe Meg?

  “You’re right in saying it’s not in our best interest to teach you how to disarm us.” Geoff replied, “But at the same time, that would be an awesome power to have on our side.” He looked to Jack, “Can you imagine Kovic’s face when Ryan renders his guys useless?”

  “It would have him reconsider stepping on our turf for sure.” Jack had to agree.

   “So you’ll help me?” Ryan was excited by the prospect. He had never been one to cast magic or anything of the sort, and had felt pretty helpless in the past. Now he’d learned he wasn’t so helpless after all, and was eager to wield his new-found power.

  They turned into the carpool where Ryan had met them, and parked next to his sedan.

  “That factory you’re living in has the whole main floor clear.” Geoff began, “I set it up that way hoping to use it for events, but it’s more than enough space to throw magic around.”

  Jack nodded and then looked to Ryan, “Also, I’d love to try that suppression spell on you again. Just to test what happens now that Demon and Rye are gone.”

  “You could draw up a bunch of devil’s traps and Ryan could try to break ‘em.” Geoff offered.

  A silence fell between them as they began to plot what they should test or try out.

  Ryan broke it with a quiet question, “Is it bad I want to try eating someone now?” he saw both Jack and Geoff turn to look at him, “Not anyone specific, just – y’know,” He shrugged, “Better than killing them for fun, right?”

  Jack sighed, “Jesus Christ, Ryan.”

  “What?! I mean, it tasted good, and it’s not like I’m gonna do it, I just figure–” Ryan didn’t know how to make it sound less worrisome, so he changed the topic altogether, “Who knows I’m a smiling stranger?”

  “Jack, Burnie, and I.” Geoff supplied, “Now that you know what you are, it’ll be up to you who you tell. Just be careful about it. For obvious reasons.”

  “Because it’s the basically the equivalent of admitting to murder. I get it.” Ryan nodded. He wondered how Meg would take the news. If he was going to tell anyone, it was going to be her.

  “Ok, I’m going to call triple A. You guys head home and get some sleep.” Jack told them and began to dig around for his phone.

  “I drove here with you, asshole!” Geoff pointed out.

  “You can warp!” Jack argued.

  Geoff groaned loudly, “You know it makes me fucking sick!”

  “Then you can wait here! Or go with Ryan!” Jack didn’t know why the hell Geoff was complaining.

  Geoff looked to Ryan, “Hey Ry-man,”

  “Yeah, it’s cool. You’re basically on the way to my place anyway.” Ryan pushed open the door and stepped out.

  “See ya!” Geoff told Jack as he followed Ryan out.

  Ryan felt bad that Jack was going to have his vehicle towed because of him, so he turned back and opened the front passenger door, “I’m sorry about your truck, man. I’ll pay the mechanic costs.”

  Jack chuckled, “Oh I was planning on it. Thank you though. Drive safe.”

  Ryan nodded and closed the door to see Geoff was already waiting by his sedan. He hurried over as Geoff impatiently tapped his foot.

  Unlocking his car and slipping in behind the steering wheel, he saw Geoff plop himself into the passenger seat.

  “You need a new car.” Geoff commented with a frown.

  “This one works well enough. It gets me from point A to B.” Ryan replied as he started the engine.

  Geoff wrinkled his nose, “Why does it smell like a stale Krispy Kreme in here?”

  “Uh, well, you know.” Ryan shrugged and pulled out of the carpool lot.

  “Could smell worse, I guess.” Geoff admitted.

  Ryan snorted.

  “So about you wanting to eat a guy,” Geoff returned to the topic.

  “I won’t.” Ryan quickly answered.

  Geoff shook his head, “Nah man, it’s fine. Demon was out killing people anyway, so as long as we lay some ground rules, I don’t see why we’d have to police you.”

  Ryan blinked, “You serious?” he hadn’t expected that.

  Geoff shrugged, “What you do outside of work is your business. Just make sure you don’t get caught. Also don’t ever bring cops to work or a safehouse, and don’t hurt anyone we know. Oh, and don’t you dare keep evidence in your fridge or some creepy shit.”

  Ryan thought it over, “But what if there’s leftovers?”

  “You said you wanted to try it, not replace your diet.” Geoff argued, “If Jack or I ever come over for a meal, I do not want to think about my food having sat next to some dude’s pancreas, understand?”

  Ryan smirked “So what you’re saying then, is that I should buy a separate chest freezer.”

  “Oh my god.” Geoff ran a hand down his face, “If you do, I can’t stop you, but good luck if cops ever raid your place.”

  “I’m not an idiot Geoff. I was joking. I don’t even know if I would like human meat outside of a starvation scenario.” Ryan admitted.

  “I’d say chances are high that you will. Just be smart about it, promise?”

  “I promise.”

  “Cool.” Geoff sunk down in his seat with relief, “Take the next right.”

   Ryan drummed his fingers on the wheel and took the turn, “You wouldn’t happen to know if smiling strangers eat the meat raw or cooked, would you?”

  Geoff turned to Ryan with something mischievous in his eyes. He grinned, “We could test it with other types of meat. I have some raw chicken breasts in the fridge at home.”

  Ryan was appalled, “Oh god no! I don’t want to die.”

  “A hundred bucks if you eat one whole breast raw.”

  “No! The hospital visit will cost far more than that!”

  “Only if you can’t eat meat raw.”

  “Which I might not!”

  “’Might’ being the key word here.” Geoff cocked his head and chuckled.

  “Not happening.”

  “What if instead of a hundred bucks in cash, I reduce your rent by a hundred, permanently?”

  Ryan was tempted, but did not want to risk being horrifically ill, “No. No chance in hell.”

  Geoff wasn’t blind to the slight hesitation of Ryan’s consideration, “How about two hundred? Forever.”

  Ryan slapped his hand on the wheel, “Why are you so determined to make me eat raw chicken?!”

  “Because it would be fucking hilarious.” Geoff laughed, “And way easier than finding a person.”

  “I can wait until the next time you need someone killed. No rush.”

  “Yeah, but this is so much better!”

  Ryan sighed, “Could we at least make it beef?”

  “No! Humans can eat raw beef just fine, what the hell would be the point?!” Geoff looked downright offended by the suggestion.

  Ryan emitted a loud whine, “But food poisoning is such a bad time…”

  “Two hundred off of your rent forever, bud.” Geoff dangled the offer in front of him.

  “Fuck. Fine. One chicken breast. That’s it.” Ryan finally conceded.

  “Deal!” Geoff put out his hand.

  Ryan hesitated in taking it, “And you pay any hospital bills!” he added.

  “Done!”

  Ryan sighed and took Geoff’s hand.

 Geoff clapped his hands together and grinned, “Oh this is gonna be great!”

 

  They pulled up into Geoff’s driveway and Ryan’s stomach was already flipping over in regret.

  Geoff almost skipped out of the car and to his front door. He was clearly looking forward to this.

  Ryan slunk in after him, following Geoff straight to the kitchen.

  “This is a mistake.” Ryan muttered as he watched Geoff pull the package of raw chicken breasts from the fridge.

  Geoff was grinning as he removed a breast and gave it a quick rinse under cool water. Placing it on a plate he held it out to Ryan, “Bon Appetite!”

  Ryan took the plate and gave the chicken a quick sniff. It smelled like raw meat, which wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t appealing either, “Do I have to?”

  “Hey, you agreed to it.” Geoff turned and began washing the raw chicken from his hands.

  Ryan used two fingers to pick up the breast. It was cold and slimy, “Yeah, I think I’m gonna have to back out of this one.” He put the breast back on the plate.

  “Oh no you’re not. If you back out, I’m increasing your rent by two hundred.” Geoff shook water from his hands and toweled off the rest.

  “T-that’s not legal!” Ryan protested. His gut went cold and twisted tighter.

  Geoff broke into a cackling laughter, “ _Legal?_ ” He howled, “What are ya gonna do? _Call the cops?_ ”

  Ryan’s lips twitched, and he frowned. Geoff had a point.

  Geoff calmed his laughter into snickers, “Consider it a science experiment. If you can eat raw chicken, then you can definitely eat anything else raw too. Really, I’m only helping you here.”

  “Unless I die.” Ryan argued.

  Geoff sighed and went over to a cabinet. He opened the door to reveal it was stuffed with jars filled with an assortment of colourful liquids. He pushed a few aside until he pulled out one filled with a milky pink liquid.

  Ryan recognised the colour, “Is that Pepto-Bismol? That won’t save me from salmonella!”

  “This is what Pepto-Bismol wishes it was.” Geoff brandished the jar and shut the cabinet, “This puppy will save you from even the moldiest, most rotten of foods. It sucks up all the toxins and bacteria.” He placed the jar on the counter, “So if you do start a mass evacuation from both ends, I’ve got you covered.”

  “You could have mentioned that earlier…” Ryan murmured.

  “ _You_ just have to trust ol’Geoff a bit more!” Geoff grinned.

  Ryan shook his head. There was no way he was getting out of this now. He picked up the breast again and took a deep breath in a poor attempt to untie his stomach.

  Geoff eagerly watched with baited breath as Ryan lifted the breast to his mouth.

  Ryan easily bit off a chunk. It didn’t taste horrible, but the texture was disgusting. It was chewy, cold, and slimy. In fact, the taste itself was really the least of his problems with it.

  “Oh my god, you’re actually doing it!” Geoff cheered and then gagged.

  He forced himself to swallow, “Bleh.”

  “How is it?” Geoff inquired.

  “It tastes fine. My problem is the texture… and maybe the fact that it’s cold.” Ryan explained, before taking another large bite.

  Geoff made several noises of discomfort and shook out his hands, “That’s _nasty_.” He shuddered.

  Ryan took another chunk out of the breast. It was getting easier to overcome his disgust. He easily finished the chicken off.

  “I can’t fucking believe you did it.” Geoff shook his head and after a moment’s pause he shuddered again.

  “You didn’t give me a choice!” Ryan went to the sink and washed the chicken juice from his hands with plenty of soap. Done with his hands, he did his best to rinse the lingering taste out of his mouth.

  “So how do you feel?” Geoff asked him with a smile.

  “Fine right now, but we’ll have to wait and see.” Ryan wasn’t sure how long food poisoning could take to set in, but the last thing he wanted was to believe himself fine and get in the car to drive home. It was a fifteen minute drive home, and if the illness kicked in while he was in the car, he would be shit out of luck.

  “Let’s give it an hour. Keep that potion close by.” Geoff suggested.

  “Just for reference, where is your nearest bathroom?” Ryan felt it would relevant soon.

  “You feel something already?”

  “No, but just in case I need to make a beeline for the toilet.” Ryan explained.

  “Exit the kitchen and it’s the first door on the right.” Geoff directed him.

  Ryan committed it to memory, “Good to know.” He straightened out and stretched his back, before rubbing his stomach, “Thinking about it, pork would have probably been the far better test. Chicken isn’t a mammal.”

  Geoff shrugged, “I had chicken.”

  “Maybe I can use my savings from the rent to buy everything pre-cooked.”

  Geoff chuckled, “Sure buddy.” He glanced at the time, “Wanna watch something while we wait to see if you’re gonna shit out your intestines?” He left the kitchen and headed to the living room without waiting for a reply.

  Ryan followed, ensuring to bring the jar of pink liquid with him. He sat down on the couch, a comfortable distance away from Geoff and held the jar up to the light. It was opaque. Still curious, he unscrewed the lid and took a sniff. It smelled chemically sweet.

  “So what’s in this?” Ryan asked.

  Geoff flicked through a few channels before bringing up the shows he had recorded, “Huh?”

  “This potion, what’s it made out of?”

  Geoff shrugged, “Lots of shit. Like all potions, you’re probably better off not knowing. All that’s important is that it works.”

  “That’s comforting…” Ryan screwed the lid back on the jar.

  “It’s not supposed to taste good or be appetising, it’s just supposed to work.” Geoff told him. Scrolling through his recorded shows he asked, “Do you watch ‘Always Sunny’?”

  Ryan shook his head, “I’ve seen a few episodes, but years ago.”

  “I fucking love it. Best show out there by far.” Geoff selected a new episode and let it play, “What stuff do you watch?”

  “Nothing recently. I mostly read.”

  “Could you be more of a nerd?”

  “I didn’t have a TV in my place until today!” Ryan exclaimed, “And before that it was all shit I could get for free with an old antenna in Georgia. Even the hospital didn’t have cable, just a bunch of old VHS movies.”

  “You mean the asylum?”

  “They don’t call them that anymore.”

  Geoff crossed his arms, “Well calling them hospitals is only misleading.”

  Ryan sighed, “It’s to reduce the stigma.”

  “Shut up, Charlie is talking.” Geoff ended the discussion.

 

  Half an hour later and Ryan was still showing no signs of illness.

  Geoff flipped over to the news and looked Ryan over, “You seem fine dude.”

  “It could just mean the chicken was clean. It would have been a better test if you had some as well.” Ryan was still holding the jar close to himself, just in case.

  “Fuck that!” Geoff laughed. He checked the time again, “At this point you may as well just spend the night. I have a guest room you can use. Keep the jar on you in case we have a delayed reaction.”

  Ryan saw that it was already after 2 AM, “If it’s no trouble. I could always take the potion with me and head home.” He suggested.

  Geoff shook his head, “Don’t worry about it. I only ask that I don’t wake up with you gnawing on my arm or something.” He chuckled.

  Ryan couldn’t help but chuckle as well, “That’s not gonna happen. I’m sure that eating you would only take years off my life.”

  “Hey!” Geoff objected, “I’d be fucking delicious!”

  “I can smell the damage from the alcohol on your breath.” Ryan told him, “Demon wasn’t lying when he told you about it a while ago.”

  “I never said my liver was fine. I just know how to live life. I’m grade A meat. You’re missing out.”

  Ryan laughed, “Fine, I’m sure you’d taste great.”

  “Damn straight I would.” Geoff huffed. He pushed himself up off the couch and motioned for Ryan to follow, “I’ll show you the room. The closest bathroom is literally the next door to it, so don’t worry about that.” He led Ryan upstairs.

  Holding his jar, Ryan followed Geoff up the stairs.

  Geoff opened a door and turned on the lights to the room, “This is it.” He motioned to the bed, “Don’t mind that display cabinet filled with animal bones.”

  Ryan stepped in and saw the cabinet Geoff was referring to, “Oh.” Skulls and bones of a variety of different animals lined the shelves.

  “Don’t really have anywhere else to store them.” Geoff shrugged, “And you never know when you’re gonna need ‘em.”

  Ryan raised an eyebrow, “Sure…”

  “Bathroom’s the door to the left of this room.” Geoff informed him, “Don’t shit in the bed.”

  “I wasn’t planning on it.” Ryan looked to him in disappointment.

  “Hey, it happens.” Geoff lifted his shoulders before letting them drop.

  “Hopefully not often?” Ryan turned to Geoff with concern.

  Geoff shrugged with one shoulder before turning and leaving the room. As he exited, he gave Ryan a small wave, “G’night, stranger.”

  Ryan cocked his head, “Good night, human.” He replied and heard Geoff snort in amusement.

 

  Closing the door, Ryan began to remove his socks and jeans. It would be far more comfortable to sleep without them. Once done, he turned off the light and threw himself down onto the twin sized bed.

  This had been a ridiculously eventful day filled with life changing revelations, and he could only hope that the next would not bring horrific illness.

 

  _He was laid out flat on a steel surface. It was cold against his bare skin. His ankles and wrists were securely tied down with leather straps._

_It was bright, but Ryan did not recognise the room he was in. Where was he? How did he get here? Where were his clothes?_

_Someone moved off to the side, and next thing he knew he was surrounded by people. All were dressed in scrubs with their faces covered by hygienic masks and goggles. There were at least eight of them._

_Ryan pulled at the restraints, “What’s going on?!” he shouted._

  _The masked people spoke in a murmur, as if Ryan weren’t even there._

_“What test shall be first performed on the subject?”_

_“We’ve never had one of these before. It could carry pathogens we aren’t anticipating.”_

_“Let’s start with its healing ability. See what it takes to kill it.”_

_Ryan saw them pull out scalpels and he renewed his struggle, “Wait! Stop!”_

_“We may want to sedate the subject.”_

_“That would tamper with our results.”_

_“We need to know how to kill these things.”_

_Ryan screamed as one of them pressed the scalpel down into his chest._

_“Pain response typical.”_

_He continued to scream as the scalpel was pulled down his sternum. Fighting against his bindings, he finally felt them give._

_Leather creaked and then cracked as Ryan pulled his right arm free._

_The masked people leaned back fearfully._

_Ryan didn’t hesitate. He grabbed the scalpel and slashed out at his captors. Warm blood spilled over his right hand and he tore his left hand free. Keeping them at bay with his makeshift weapon, Ryan fumbled around with releasing his ankles._

_Once fully free he got off of the table and corralled the masked people up against a wall. He looked around wildly searching for an exit._

_“Where am I?!” He demanded._

_The masked people remained silent._

_Ryan snarled and grabbed the nearest one. He pressed the scalpel against their neck, “How do I get out of here?!”_

_A soft hand on his arm startled him, and he whipped around to see himself standing next to him._

_“Rye?” he asked, but somehow already knew it was him._

_Another hand curled around the wrist of his hand holding the scalpel._

_Ryan saw it was clawed, and when he followed it up to its owner, he saw yet another version of himself._

_Black eyed and fanged, Demon was holding onto Ryan’s wrist. His grip tightened, and he grinned, pushing Ryan’s hand forward to plunge the scalpel into the person’s neck._

_Ryan didn’t fight it. He watched the blood pour down the front of their scrubs until they could stand no more and fell down to the floor._

_A metallic stink permeated the room, cloying in its intensity._

_He couldn’t breathe._

_He was suffocating._

_Ryan dropped the scalpel and his hands flew to his neck._

  Ryan woke with a choked gasp. He felt a tightness around his neck and began to panic. His hands grabbed at what was around his neck and he realised it was fabric.

  Pulling himself free he sat up and gulped down air. He panted and took a moment to calm down. Surveying the scene and taking in his surroundings he realise he was safe in Geoff’s guest room.

  During his nightmare he must have tossed so much that he got one of his sheets wrapped around his neck just tight enough to restrict airflow.

  He massaged his neck and let himself drop back down onto his pillow.

  Sunlight was brightly shining down through the blinds. Even if it hadn’t been morning already, Ryan doubted he’d be able to sleep again after that.

  He stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, trying to clear his head and straighten his thoughts. His nightmares had taken a new and unpleasant turn.

  Turning his head to the nightstand to grab his phone, he saw the pink potion. His stomach felt surprisingly fine. He felt some morning hunger, but that was it.

  Had he really been fine with raw chicken? It was good to know – assuming it wasn’t a fluke. He had experienced food poisoning in the past, so it was completely possible for him to fall ill from bad food, but it seemed that undercooked (or in this case, completely raw) meat was not the issue.

  With little else to do but get dressed and check on Geoff, he did just that.

  Loud snoring from behind Geoff’s bedroom door made it clear that he was still fast asleep, so Ryan quietly made his way downstairs.

  He debated whether to make breakfast for both himself and Geoff, but decided against it. Ryan knew how much Geoff loved to cook, and figured anything he would prepare would only be subpar by Geoff’s standards.

  Settling on leaving a simple note of thanks tacked to the fridge, Ryan grabbed an apple and left Geoff’s home.

**Author's Note:**

> For the love of god, don't eat raw chicken. You are not a supernatural creature and could die. At the very least it would be a Bad Time.
> 
> Like my fic? Wanna talk to others that like my fic? Join my Discord! https://discord.gg/xK8Bwqx


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